Improvement in railroad-track tampers



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK MAGEE, O F NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-TRACK TMPERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 136,845., dated March 18, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK MAGEE, of the city of New Orleans, parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented a new, useful, and Improved Apparatus for Tampin g the Earth under Railroad Ties; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the drawing annexed forming a part of this specification.

My improvement relates to an apparatus by means of which the earth or other materials whichv are required to constitute the foundations under railroad ties may be expeditiously and firmly packed beneath said ties, to the end of securing thereby a more solid, substantial, and unyielding bed upon which the ties may rest, than can be obtained lby the usual' inode of tamping with iron bars. My device will now be more clearly understood by reference to the drawing, whereon -it is plainly shown at Figure l by a side or end view, and

A .at Fig. 2 by a front or face view.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts of my invention in both tig nres.

Upon the bed-frame A are raised two upright standards B, in the projecting lugs a of which rests the horizontal shaft b, and upon the upper end of the said standards B the horizontal shaft o. The said .shaft c is provided with the cranks d, which are rigidly keyed thereto, and also with the hand-lever e. To the end of the said cranks d are pivoted the upper extremities of the links f, and at the lower extremities of the said links f are'connected the cranks g of the tamping-clampsh, upon the lower divided ends of which are placed the face-plates i. The said clamps h have theiry bearings upon the said shaft b. Each of the said face-plates i is designed to be in length equal to one-half the width between the rails, and when operated one is to be outside of the track and the other upon the inside thereof', and the faces of these plates, by means of handpower applied to the said lever e, will be made to press or pack the earth together from the opposite sides of the cross-ties at one and the same time, and by one depression of the leverA e by the operator. Y

The operation of raising or lowering the lever a few times, while some loose earth or other materials are beingthrown between the tamping-plates by a second party, will effectually secure a solidity of foundation for theties which cannot be obtained by tamping with iron bars in accordance with the usual custom.

My apparatus is easily handled by two men,

and, as I have demonstrated by experiment,

is thoroughly efficient for the purposes for which it is designed, and is a great labor-saving machine, and hence of importance to the public.

Havingdescribed my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to, secure by Letters Patent, is-

The improved earth-tampin g apparatus herein described7 and consisting of the frame A, standards B, shafts b and c, lever e, cranks d, links f, arms g,`c1amps h, and face-plates t',

when these are constructed and arranged for operation substantially as described, for the purposes herein set forth.

, PATRICK MAGEE.

Witnesses L. J. OLMsTEAD,

H. N. J ENKINs. 

